Recruiters and employers who interview candidates: I need your help guys! Even though I have dreams of completing college next year, I will not be mentioning that in interviews. Please stick to providing relevant advice, with no mention of my personal life whatsoever.

I have started to arrange interviews for call centre and admin/reception roles as I want a clean office type of a job during college as I feel it will lend well to any future career I take on once I finish college.

Please read bellow and provide feedback.

RECRUITERS ONLY please.

Recruiters: what to say to impress the interviewer?

I intend on doing the following....

- how to sell things to the interviewer if we are asked to sell things on the spot
- how best to act in group settings and tests
- Turning up early
- researching the company and highlighting the key points and the things I like about it
- state how I can help the company and be an asset to them/plan my answers before the interview so I do not get nervous and flail about
- speak in a clear and concise manner
- dressing professionally in crisp black blouses with black or grey or black striped workpants
, neatly ironed and with no stains. I will pack a spare blouse in case I get a stain on the train on route to the interview
- take a new looking, good quality bag
- take a neat folder of my documents and show I am highly organised
- Be friendly to the receptionist when she speaks to me
- DO NOT carry on about irrelevant crap; address what I am being ask in a clear, concise manner whilst also being friendly and enthusiastic about being there
- be a team player in the interviews: smile, be polite, LISTEN well to what other people have to say DO NOT talk too much and be overbearing, but don't be quiet as a mouse either.
- be positive and encouraging to other people
- stay alert and lean slightly forward in my seat and be eager and interested

Questions I am going to likely have to answer. These are a few examples of how I intend to answer questions. PLEASE give me feedback if you are a recruiter.

- my greatest achievements ( a common question)

I have been, most recently, to volunteer with an eight year old with ____ organisation, and help him to move up a few levels in his reading. My greatest achievement of all time would be helping my clients reach their fitness goals, one woman in particularly had pretty severe health issues due to her being severely obese. I managed to devise some simple exercises that she would be able to carry out in bed and when sedentary, that would over time, surely build up the strength in her ___ and ___ Muscles. A month later she was able to enter into our gym and start using the treadmills and 3 speeds higher than when she first came in with her walking aid; this time around, she was able to come in with her walking device alone and with no walking assistant, and was able to complete our tests to a better standard than before I prescribed her the specialised exercises.

- how have I managed to handle difficult situations

I have had to multi task in my retail role by serving the customers in front of me, accessing the order books and finding the products and then ordering in products, whilst also upselling products by recommending them products in our range that could stand to benefit them (sales, other products within the line that they purchased from, etc). Of course I was also answering phone calls and placing people on hold whilst I was at it.
I also told everyone in line at what time our quieter trading hours were, so that anyone who wished to go and run some errands in the centre/mall could do just that and then come back and get faster device when there was not a long line.
I have managed to turn a large line or irate customers into pleased customers through empathising with their frustrations, suggesting similar shops nearby and recommending quieter trading hours and most of all, apologising to them about the delay and agreeing with them that " this is very inconvenient and I do apologise"

Any other questions that you recruiters KNOW will be asked for a call centre style of job?

We do have a fixed salary for this job that we earn irrespective of commission, although I will not last more than a week if I do not manage to accurately describe products to clients and customers and have at least some of them opt to use those services. I would start work next Monday. They are going group interviews with no numeracy tests but rather, an individual and group interview and testing your ability to make sales.

I will likely end up having more interviews in the near future so I will need to hone in on my skills so I can eventually land a job in either a call centre, administration and reception, or retail work.

Thanks so much in advance for any advice given!

But please, NOT mention of my personal life or previous threads, this is strictly about helping me in successfully undergoing interviews and getting a job at long last.

I thought your boyfriend and parents refused to let you post here anymore?

Regardless, I think you got pretty good advice early on in your last thread before it got a little off topic. There's only so much over analysing you can do about a job. You have been scoring interviews, that's awesome just be polite and answer their questions honestly with a bit of enthusiasm and if they like you enough they will hire you!

I think you mentioned that you missed out on a job at the bank because you rushed through your test with a few errors however overall they seemed to be pretty impressed with your personal presentation and personality. If a situation like this comes up again, make sure you take your time with the tests so you don't make any silly mistakes.

My boyfriend and family have banned me from ever talking about my personal life. Ever. They don't mind if I reach out to recruiters who can better help my chances of securing a job.

I didn't prepare myself for the bank, my hair was dishevelled and not brushed well I had no sleep and my sleep hygiene was terrible.

Now, I am getting enough sleep, I will ensure my hair is freshly brushed, and I have gone through a possible scenario that I have ever been asked in an interview and I feel comfortable enough to answer any question in more depth.

I am trying to think up plenty of examples of how I have previously put my skills into actions in the workforce, what was my greatest professional achievement, what are my strengths and weaknesses, and what can I bring to the company.

I never get jobs so obviously I do something very wrong or are best, I am very mediocre albeit a " nice girl ", barf. I've heard that one a lot in the rejection line... " you're a nice girl BUT...."

I need all the help I can get really. I want to be clear, sucucient, to the point as well as being friendly and speaking clearly and at a good speed ( I can speak too fast at times)

I have managed to turn a large line or irate customers into pleased customers through empathising with their frustrations, suggesting similar shops nearby and recommending quieter trading hours and most of all, apologising to them about the delay and agreeing with them that " this is very inconvenient and I do apologise"

So you tell prospective employers that you handle long lines of customers by recommending they go shop at competiting businesses?

So you tell prospective employers that you handle long lines of customers by recommending they go shop at competiting businesses?

Good catch, Kizmet.
I glanced over that part.

Leigh,
I'm not sure about recommending times when business is slower, either.
As a customer, it feels like you're shooing me out the door.
If I leave, there goes a sale.
An employer isnt going to like that.

I work in HR in the finance industry. I always ask applicants what their GPA was in high school or college. I need smart people who can handle the job training and the software we run. But I also need honest people so I'm as interested in what the answer is as I am in how they answer.

Tell me about a time when you had a difficult customer and how you dealt with it?

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

How will you handle a high stress environment?

Why do you want this job?

Can you work under pressure?

^^^^^^^^^^ the above ..

Thanks Clia.

Leigh, The above is the reason I came to prefer temp agencies. You get into the job with minimal screening, work your butt off and impress them - and get to keep the job - and w/o going through all the interviewing and testing.

Please note: The suggestions and advice offered on this web site are opinions only and are not to be used in the place of professional psychological counseling or medical advice. If you or someone close to you is currently in crisis or in an emergency situation, contact your local law enforcement agency or emergency number.